The time for their feasts, wherein they ate and drank to excess (and they drank, too, much more than they ate), was, as we have said, upon occasions of illness, death, and mourning. Such was also their custom at betrothals, weddings, and sacrifices, and with guests and visitors. Upon all these occasions there was not a door closed against anyone who might desire to go to drink with them--for they designate a feast by the term "drinking," not "eating." In the feasts which they held upon occasions of sacrifice, they were wont to place at one side of the table a plate, upon which he who chose would throw, by way of religious ceremony, some mouthful of food, which he refrained from eating out of respect to the anito. They eat, sitting in a low position; and their tables are small, low, and round or square in shape, without covering or napkins, the plates containing the victuals being placed on the table itself. They eat in groups of sufficient number to surround the table; and it may happen that a house is filled from one end to another with tables, and guests drinking. The food is placed all together upon various plates, and they have no hesitation in putting the hands of all into the same dish, or in drinking out of the same vessel. They eat but little, drink often, and spend much time in the feast. When they are satiated with food and intoxicated with the drink, they remove the tables and clear the house; and, if the feast is not one of mourning, they sing, play musical instruments, dance, and in this way, spend days and nights, with great uproar and shouting--until finally they fall, exhausted and drowsy. But they are never seen to become, in their intoxication, so frenzied or crazed that they commit excesses; on the contrary, they preserve, in the main, their ordinary conduct, and even under the influence of wine, act with as much respect and prudence as before, although they are naturally more lively and talkative, and utter witty remarks. It is proverbial among us that none of them, upon leaving the feast late at night in a state of intoxication, fails to reach his home. Moreover, if they have occasion to buy or sell anything, they not only make no mistake in the bargaining, but if it be necessary to weigh the gold or silver for the price (which is the common usage among those nations, each person carrying for that purpose a small pair of scales in his wallet), they do it with such accuracy that the hand never trembles, nor is there any error in the weight. Of the labors of Father Juan de Torres and Father Gabriel Sanchez in the island of Bohol. Chapter XXXV.